Terrorist case against Mullah Krekar starts in Italy on January 10th

Mullah KrekarMullah Krekar.Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix

The Italian terrorist case against Mullah Krekar and five other people will start on the 10th of January. The Justice Minister has promised to get Krekar out of Norway if he is sentenced.

 

Italian authorities claim Najmuddin Faraj Ahmad, known as Mullah Krekar, leads a terrorist network called Rawti Shax, associated with the extremist group ISIS
(Islamic State). The case was due to start in March 2017, but was postponed several times.

‘If he is convicted in Italy, he must be in Italy. I will take care of that,’ said Justice Minister, Per-Willy Amundsen, to Nettavisen newspaper.

Ahmad denies punishment for the entire indictment, and is not going to attend the trial.

Fremskrittsparti (Frp) have promised to throw Krekar out of Norway, and in November

2015, the government had secret meetings with Italian authorities about handing over Mullah Krekar to Italy. But Italy retracted the request for extradition.

‘Now other countries have chosen to prosecute him, and we have an active approach to solving the matter. We’ll see what the outcome of the Italian trial is, but if it goes well in Italy, this will be solved,’ said Amundsen.

Ahmad’s lawyer, Brynjar Meling, doesn’t believe his client will be handed over.

‘Why should I believe that when the email correspondence between politicians in Norway and Italy shows that this is a political matter and not a matter of terror? I wish that the Minister of Justice would conclude that criminal prosecutions were carried forward without anything to do with Italy,’ Meling told the Nettavisen newspaper.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today